A shocking snapshot of the most current impulses in American religion. Rodney Stark reports the surprising findings of the 2007 Baylor Surveys of Religion, a follow up to the 2005 survey revealing most Americans believe in God or a higher power. This new volume highlights even more hot-button issues of religious life in our country. A must-read for anyone interested in Americans' religious beliefs and practices.

List of Tables

IntroductionThe Stability and Diversity of American Faith

Part ICongregations

1 Church-goingLabels Matter

2 Church GrowthCompeting for Members

3 Strict ChurchesThe Reasons for their Popularity

4 The “Scattered” ChurchTraditional Congregations are not Going Away

5 MegachurchesSupersizing the Faith

Part IIBeliefs and Practices

6 Religious ExperiencesGod Told Me to Go to Church

7 GenderWomen Believe More, Pray More

8 HeavenWe are All Going There

9 GodLove Makes a Difference

10 EvilDid Sin Cause the Hurricane?

11 SpiritualityReligion and Spirituality Are Not Mutually Exclusive

12 GivingThe Rich, the Poor, and the Widow’s Mite

13 PersonalityAre We Hard-Wired for God?

Part IIIAtheism and Irreligion

14 AtheismGodless Revolution Never Happened

15 CredulityNew Age Believers in Big Foot

16 New Age AdherentsWell-Educated, Formerly Irreligious Elites

17 The IrreligiousSimply Unchurched—not Atheists

Part IVThe Public Square

18 Faith andPoliticsIs There a Secret Plot of Evangelicals to Take over the American Government?

19 Merry Christmas, JesusIt’s Okay to Put Sacred Symbols in the Public Square

20 IncivilityTalking about Faith in Public

21 Religious Media ConsumptionThe DaVinci Code Effect

22 Civic ParticipationFaith as Social Capital

23 Going to College, Getting a JobWhat Happens when Mom and Dad Take Their Kids to Church

EpilogueThe Institute for the Study of Religion

Contributors

Notes

An indispensable resource for understanding the American public.

—George H. Gallup Jr., American Public Opinion Statistician

All who find in statistics precise food for thought owe Stark and his colleagues at Baylor gratitude.

—Publisher's Weekly

A worthy addition to the burgeoning survey data literature in the sociology of religion. Recommended. Lower-level undergraduates and above; general readers.

—CHOICE

Rodney Stark (Ph.D. University of California, Berkley) is Distinguished Professor of the Social Sciences at Baylor University. Co-Director of the Institute of Studies of Religion, Stark is also widely published. His publications include Discovering God: The Origins of the Great Religions and the Evolution of Belief (2007), Cities of God: The Real Story of How Christianity Became an Urban Movement and Conquered Rome (2006), and The Victory of Reason: How Christianity Led to Freedom, Capitalism, and Western Success (2005).